Transatlantic Council on Migration

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Transatlantic Council on Migration

More than 51 million people worldwide are forcibly displaced today as refugees, asylum seekers, or internally displaced persons. This report details the increasing mismatch between the legal and normative frameworks that define the existing protection regime and the contemporary patterns of forced displacement.

A port city connecting the Netherlands with major trading partners, Rotterdam is, and has long been, home to migrants from around the globe. But the recent rise in temporary forms of migration presents new challenges for Rotterdam’s integration policy.

This report provides a first look at the opportunities and tradeoffs that smartphones and emerging technologies offer for immigrant integration, and how they might deepen city residents’ sense of belonging. Smartphones can facilitate on-the-go learning, reduce barriers to city services for residents with limited destination-country language proficiency, and improve civic engagement.

As the initial point of contact for most immigrants, cities see firsthand how both local and national policies affect newcomers and minorities. This report explores the steps cities across Europe are taking to be more inclusive of immigrants and minorities and how these efforts relate to national policies.

Large immigration flows challenge destination cities to find innovative ways to meet the needs of immigrant residents and promote their integration. This report examines the successful integration strategies of five U.S. cities—Cupertino and San Francisco, CA; Littleton, CO; New York City; and Seattle—and offers lessons for local governments looking to implement their own initiatives.

Where does residential segregation come from, and why does it vary significantly across minority groups and country contexts? This report explores these questions and examines the policy tools that lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic have used to address the segregation of immigrant groups.

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Recent Activity

The Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) and Europe appear to be an ideal demographic match: the former has a large supply of young, active workers, and the latter has a shortage of the youthful, skilled or unskilled labor it needs to sustain its economic competitiveness. MENA is the source of 20 million first-generation migrants, half of them now living in another MENA country and most of the rest in Europe. The region also hosts around the same number within its borders. In addition, the size of MENA’s working-age population will continue to rise sharply in the next two decades while the corresponding segment of the population in Europe will soon start to decline.

In the next two decades, the world will face two major — and opposing — demographic challenges: rapid population growth and rapid population aging. In an increasingly economically interdependent world, policymakers will simultaneously face a strain on resources caused by population growth and a shortage of labor spurred by the graying of the population.

This report explores the need for nations to adjust their thinking and policy toward attracting the coveted elite class of highly skilled global talent as emerging and middle-income countries increasingly attempt to woo back their nationals and engage their diaspora to help move their economy forward.

This report traces the evolution of the link between international study and skilled migration, outlines policy methods that OECD countries are using to recruit and retain international students, identifies policy challenges through a close examination of existing policies and trends, and predicts how the economic recession will affect future international student flows.

A look at Mexico's slowing population growth, which, coupled with economic developments and changes in U.S. immigration policy (including stricter border control), has resulted in a slight slowdown in Mexican immigration to the United States relative to the 1995 to 2000 period.

This report looks at the trends and emerging demographics in Asia. From 1960 to 2000, the region experienced a major population boom, however, by 2040, the 15-to-34 age group population will start to shrink.

China and India are major players in international migration. Both countries have very large populations that will continue to grow in the coming years. The available pool of potential migrants from China and India will remain high although population size and density (known as demographic variability) will change from year to year in both countries.

This report examines the advantages and disadvantages of two fundamentally different approaches to economic migrant selection—demand driven and employer led systems and human-capital-accumulation focused and government led systems, best illustrated by “points systems,” which apportion numerical values to desirable human-capital characteristics.

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About the Initiative

The Transatlantic Council on Migration is a unique deliberative body that examines vital policy issues and informs migration policymaking processes across the Atlantic community. The Council’s work is at the cutting edge of policy analysis and evaluation and is thus an essential tool of policymaking. Launched in 2008, the Council is an initiative of the Migration Policy Institute.For more about the Council, click here.

In the Spotlight

Talent, Competitiveness and Migration

This Transatlantic Council book maps how profound demographic change is likely to affect the size and character of global migration flows, and how governments can shape immigration policy in a world increasingly attuned to the hunt for talent.

This panel discussion explores the factors driving societal discontent in Europe and the role played by immigration. Panelists include Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, and former UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke.

This Transatlantic Council volume aims to fill the analytical gap regarding the question of what greater global cooperation on governing the flow of international migrants could achieve, in an era when states both desire more global governance and yet fear it.

During this MPI event on the role of national governments in immigrant integration, MPI President Demetrios G. Papademetriou leads a discussion on the complexities of managing effective immigrant immigration systems.

This Transatlantic Council volume takes stock of the impact of the global economic crisis on immigrant integration in Europe and the United States, and assesses how governments can use the recovery period as an opportunity for more meaningful and targeted investments in integration.